


Smell Ya Later

by AmberGalaxy



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Red & Green & Blue & Yellow | Pokemon Red Green Blue Yellow Versions, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Blue - Freeform, Blue doesn't know, Childhood Friends, Childhood Rivals, Gen, M/M, Namelessshipping, Red - Freeform, green - Freeform, he's a confused gay child, please help him, red is reckless and someone needs to stop him, which is it?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 00:59:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12222528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberGalaxy/pseuds/AmberGalaxy
Summary: There's only one month left before Red and Blue receive their very first Pokemon. Professor Oak has only one condition; Stay out of trouble. Red isn't sure if he can manage that. Blue isn't sure if he can ever resist being dragged along for the ride.Can be read as being a prequel of sorts to Mimic, but it's pretty much it's own thing. Based on the English translations of the main series games, so Green is Blue.





	Smell Ya Later

One of the few good things about living in the tiny, titchy, isolated Pallet Town, was the fact that you could look out of your window and immediately know what all the residents were up to. The old timer who seemed overly impressed at anything that was operated with electricity was taking his usual stroll up to the coast, the short girl who always claimed she was raising Pokemon, despite never being seen with one,  was milling about around the lab… and Red’s mother was tending to the flowers outside her house, a sheen of haggard worry over her neutral features. The usual stuff. What was also usual, was that Red himself was nowhere to be seen. Blue tutted and behind him, Daisy giggled. Ugh.

“Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything!”

Blue turned around from where he was sitting at the windowsill, frowning at Daisy as she tended to a sick Oddish. It was seriously stinking up the place. Why didn’t Gramps ever entrust cool Pokemon to Daisy? Then Blue could like, study them and get them to fight! Daisy only ever took care of boring, girly, weak Pokemon. This Oddish in particular was inflicted with an ailment that made the whole house smell of boiled cabbage, and since their house was very small, the only escape would be to actually leave it.

But what was there to do in Pallet Town? Not a great deal, especially since Gramps absolutely forbade anyone to cross the grasslands to Viridian without a Pokemon companion. Well, such a task would be a lot simpler if he actually had a Pokemon. Who came up with the ten years old rule? Blue was ready to go on a Pokemon adventure years ago. Hell, he was ten now! Why didn’t Gramps just plonk a Pokemon on to his lap the minute his ninth year came to a close? Why did he have to wait for Red to turn ten too? This was a question Blue agonised over every single day.

Blue sighed, turning back to the window. Red’s mother had gone inside now. Water was dripping from the newly watered flowers like morning dew. How boring. Pallet Town really was the epitome of quaint dullness.

Behind Blue, Daisy laid down the sick Oddish in a makeshift bed she’d put together, all leaves and herbs and soft blankets. Maybe if it went to sleep, the smell would subside a little, but as Daisy stroked it’s head gently and lulled it into a doze, the smell just seemed to get worse. Blue looked round accusingly, but Daisy just smiled in the most irritating fashion.

“Can’t you take that gross weed back to the lab?”

Daisy rolled her eyes “You’ll never be a Pokemon Master with that attitude, Gramps wants you to be around Pokemon in the lead up to next month.”

Blue raised an eyebrow at the sentient pile of smelly leaves Daisy was stroking. “I’d benefit more from being around _strong_ Pokemon. Not that… thing.”

Daisy sighed and got up, heading over to the kitchen counter to brew some tea. Everyone was commenting that she was becoming a lovely young woman or whatever, but all Blue saw was his smug older sister, getting to do Pokemon things before he could, just because she was older. Typical. Daisy wasn’t even interested in battling! What was even the point of having Pokemon otherwise?

“Gramps doesn’t like you talking like that, besides, even if I don’t agree with your whole “only strong Pokemon are worth anything” philosophy, doesn’t every Pokemon have the potential to be strong?”

Ugh, Blue wasn’t in the mood to be lectured, he went over to the sofa to flop down on it. “Don’t bother, Sis. I hear this enough from Gramps.”

At this, Daisy did stop. She at least knew how to do that, unlike their Grandfather. Just because he was the great Pokemon Professor didn’t mean he always knew best. If he knew so much about potential, why did he like wimpy Red so much? It seemed like he liked him more than his own Grandson at times… 

“If you’re sick of the smell, why don’t you go next door for a while?”

Actually, Blue suddenly felt as though he’d rather be dealing with Gramps.

“Ew. No.”

Daisy snorted. “You always say that, but you always have a great time talking with Red. You’re full of beans when you come back from his house.”

“Talking? _Talking?!_ Talking with Red? Is that a joke? And I’m only like that because he has loads of cool Pokemon books and junk, books you won’t buy for me.”

Daisy finished brewing the tea, but even the sweet smells of the blend didn’t penetrate Oddish’s stench, it was starting to give Blue a headache now. He pulled himself up from the sofa and grabbed his jacket. Daisy smiled at him with an infuriatingly sweet smile.

“Going to see Red? I’m sure you guys have a lot to discuss, what with your first partner’s being given to you soon.”

Blue just growled in response, purposely slamming the front door as he left.

Blue would show Daisy. He wasn’t going to go round to see Red. She always did this, implied they were _friends_ or something. Like Blue would ever be friends with a creepy little worm like Red. The fact that he wanted to be a Pokemon Master like Blue did was laughable. He’d probably take on the Elite Four with lots of weedy little cute Pokemon, barely past the first stage in their evolution line, that is to say, if he ever got that far.

…Red was passionate though, Blue had to give him that. Maybe that’s what Gramps saw in him. Maybe going to see Red was an… okay idea. Blue might as well get the low down on his starting strategies to get a head start on his Pokemon Journey. Of course, Blue would be the better trainer, but he just knew Gramps would be giving Red loads of help, which was totally unfair, but Blue just rationalised that he didn’t need any help anyway. 

…Though that didn’t mean that it didn’t sting a little. Professor Oak was supposed to be _Blue’s_ grandfather, not Red’s. Red didn’t need any more parental figures. He had a mother and everything. That’s more than Blue ever had.

Blue shook himself out of his thoughts, realising that he’d been standing outside Red’s bedroom window, staring up for the last ten minutes. He’d been kind of hoping Red would just come to his window and let him up, it’d save the embarrassment of Blue calling on him at the front door and having Red’s mum treat him like a little kid. Ugh. This wasn’t some playdate. Blue picked up a small pebble, and pelted the window with it. Nothing. Jeez, was Red deaf as well as dumb? Blue rocked on his heels impatiently, before picking up another pebble and throwing it again, a little harder this time. Red really would have to be deaf to ignore this one.

Sure enough, Red finally appeared at his window, wrenching it open and looking down…. No, rather, he glared down. Glaring wasn’t really something Red did. Blue admittedly felt a little taken back, but he stood his ground, placing his hands stubbornly on his hips and tapping his foot impatiently.

“So your ears do work, huh? Aren’tcha gonna let me up?” 

Red responded by hushing Blue aggressively, craning his head around as if he was afraid someone would hear them. Like anyone would hear Red. Even if Red’s mum did hear his loudmouth, she’d probably just be grateful that Red was having an actual interaction with a real, living, breathing person, rather than one of his stupid plushies.

“Don’t get all hissy with me! I wanna talk battle strategy for next month, I ain’t goin’ anywhere!” 

Red looked agonised, he knew how stubborn Blue was. He obviously didn’t want to invite Blue up at all, but he also knew that Blue wasn’t going to shut up either. Blue was being his usual self, it was Red who was acting out of character. He rolled his eyes and shushed Blue again, but this time, after a moments hesitation, he beckoned for Blue to come up, pointing for him to enter round the back door. This was still strange, but Blue wasn’t going to pass up the chance to miss seeing Red’s mum, who usually badgered him with concerned questions about Red’s wellbeing. Why would Blue know the answer to them anyway? Like Red would tell him anything…

Blue sloped round to enter Red’s house through the back door. Red’s mother was tending to all the flowers in the kitchen now. Sheesh, how many flowers did one person need? Still, they kept her suitably occupied, and the smell of them was certainly sweeter than the disgusting smell wafting from the sick Oddish back at his own place. Actually though… as Blue slowly crept up the stairs to Red’s room, the sweet scent got stronger. By the time he was outside Red’s room, it was almost overwhelming. Then he opened the door, and it _was_ overwhelming, Blue almost stumbled backwards as he was completely assaulted by the sickly sweet scent of what smelt like someone had blended an entire vat of flowers with a gallon of perfume and then doused the entire room with it. Blue’s eyes watered with how strong it was as he pulled himself into the room.

“Holy… What the hell…?”

Red tugged Blue inside, and shut the door behind him, he seemed completely unaffected by the smell, though he did look anxious. Again, very unusual for Red, who usually took every thing in life with his stoic, blank expression. …Unless it came to Pokemon of course. Blue spluttered and coughed, trying to muffle it with his hand. He could feel Red’s awkward gaze on him, and then suddenly… there was a gentle hand on his back. Blue stood bolt upright, and Red’s hand shot back to his side, like Blue’s shoulder was red hot.

“I’m not crying! I’m just… that smell is totally burning my eyes…!” 

Red sat on his bed, his eyes darting round his room sheepishly. A few of the books Gramps had lent to him lay open on the floor, but Blue’s eye’s were too thick with tears to make out what pages they were open on. He scrubbed his face, trying to get himself together. After a minute more or so of Blue trying to compose himself as quietly as possible, he looked up at Red, frowning deeply through his sore eyes. Red at least had the decency to look guilty. 

“Is this some sorta prank, Red? B-because it ain’t funny!”

Blue wasn’t sure why he was torn up over the fact that Red might have gotten one over on him like this. Blue could be quite cutting when he spoke to Red, yes, but he’d never do something like this…! Red had clearly… lured Blue here somehow! With his silent… stoic charms…! They hadn’t even started their Pokemon journey and he was already trying to get the better of him! Blue felt himself puffing up, but he took a deep breath, coughing again as he inhaled more of the overpowering smell that hung heavily in the air. God, the stinky cabbagy Oddish was almost better than this.

But Red looked earnest, he raised his hands in dismissal, slowly shaking his head. This… wasn’t a prank. Red was silent and mysterious and _infuriating_. But he didn’t do pranks. Blue sighed. “So what is that stench? How come your Mom isn’t totally barfing out her guts on the pavement outside?” 

Red bit his lip, hiding his face under the rim of his cap. Why was he wearing that thing inside again? Sometimes Blue just wanted to snatch it right off his head. For now though, he was distracted by whatever secret Red was hiding away in here. Red was a boring little snot, but… interesting things seemed to happen to him. It was one of the many things that made Blue envious of him. He wanted to push Red, but for once, he was patient, and Red eventually pointed to a pile of Pokemon plushies behind Blue. Red sure loved his cutesy Pokemon plushies, but this pile seemed… larger than usual. Like… much larger than usual. Like, it almost reached the ceiling. And… it looked like it was breathing.

“Holy cow.”

Blue stepped closer, his heart pounding hard now. The smell was definitely coming from the pile of plushies. Something was inside there, something very large was inside there. Blue shakily reached out, and took one of the overstuffed toys away, then he yelped and fell back. It was an eye. A bulbous, bloodshot, lazy eye, the size of a large Pokeball. Blue’s mouth fell open. 

“What is-“

But before Blue could even finish his sentence, the thing beneath the plushies rose up, and lolloped forward, the floor creaking painfully loudly against it’s weight. Blue was frozen to the ground, but Red scrambled up, craning his head outside his window. Blue could vaguely hear Red’s mother chatting to Gramps outside in the back of his mind, and it was just as well. If she’d been in the house, she’d have definitely heard that. This was obviously a living, breathing Pokemon. Kids under ten weren’t allowed to own living, breathing Pokemon. Much less living, breathing Pokemon that weighed a ton.

More plushies fell away as the Pokemon sluggishly shook them off. Blue saw warty skin, another bulbous eye to match the other, huge, shiny green leaves, and bright petals that could probably swaddle a large baby. Blue still had a lot to learn about Pokemon, the whole reason he was going on his journey was to catch and discover them all, (and obviously get stronger) but he already recognised this one.

“UM.”

It was a Venusaur. Not a tiny Bulbasaur. Not a middle-sized Ivysaur. A Venusaur. Red had smuggled a friggin’ fully-evolved Venusaur into his room. Blue thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head. He opened his mouth, to probably make a lot of noise, but Red’s hands clamped over his face, muffling his yelling. Venusaur lazily watched as they scuffled on the floor, but Blue eventually came out on top, though he at least whispered when he spoke.

“ _How?!_ ”

Red looked to the side, refusing to make eye contact, but Blue didn’t let up. Eventually, Red caved in, giving Blue the smallest glance. Blue felt something in his heart twinge, but he shook it off. Making eye contact with Red was just a rare thing, anyone would probably have that reaction. Blue hesitantly let him up, crossing his arms as he waited for an explanation.

…Of course Red didn’t give a verbal one, but he took out a notebook, scribbling for a few long moments. Blue raised as eyebrow at him, glancing back at the Venusaur every so often. It… looked dangerous, with it’s giant size and powerful muscles, but… it didn’t _seem_ dangerous. It clearly didn’t see Red and Blue as a threat. Still, Blue couldn’t deny that he felt on edge. He’d never seen a fully evolved Pokemon up close before, let alone one that was apparently wild.

Meanwhile, Red had finished writing. He passed the note to Blue. 

_he was an ivysaur and with a trainer but it was a bad trainer. He was yelling at it and kicking it. Stole the pokeball out of his bag when not looking. Was afraid the professor wud tell me to give it back. Brought him here and looked after his wunds. Then he evolved. Going to set him free._

Wait… so this wasn’t a wild Pokemon? Red had stolen this Venusaur? Blue gawped at the note, then he gawped at Red, then he gawped at the note again.

“I… seriously… Red?”

Blue couldn’t help but be in awe of this guy sometimes. He never said a word, kept to himself, was the model student, socially awkward… and yet sometimes he did stuff like this, Blue could barely comprehend it. He ran a hand through his spiky hair, turning to look at the Venusaur, who was resting contently. Red had made this thing evolve? It must have been already on the brink, no way could Red make a Pokemon evolve.

…Damnit, if Gramps caught them hiding a Venusaur, he’d never let them have their partners next month. He’d totally gone bonkers with them after the “Rattata incident” years ago, and that was small fry compared to this. This wasn’t just a case of dragging a sick, wild Pokemon from the outskirts of the grasslands. This was actual Pokemon theft. The Venusaur didn’t look too troubled though. A content rumble purred from the back of it’s throat as Red got up and went to stroke it’s warty snout. Blue sighed.

“You’re gonna get us in so much trouble. You know Gramps is gonna go totally ape, right? He’ll never give you a partner if he finds out that you’ve done this.”

Red at least had the grace to look terrified at this prospect, he’d been as excited about getting his partner as Blue was. He looked back at the Venusaur, clearly at a bit of loss. It was like, he’d taken the Pokemon out of danger, but hadn’t planned ahead any further than that. Blue’s expression softened.

“…And I guess I’d get into trouble too, since I’m always freakin’ blamed for everything. So… I better help you or whatever, only so I can keep my nose clean.”

At this, Red’s face lit up in a way Blue had only seen a handful of times before, he looked so genuinely grateful and happy that Blue felt like someone was driving a fist through his heart.

“Yeah, yeah. I know, I’m amazing. Save your mush for some other time. Let’s just focus on… what we’re going to do.” 

Which was… Blue had no idea. Venusaur looked ready to go to sleep, no way were two kids the size of Red and Blue going to shift him down the stairs without anyone knowing. Blue… slowly stepped forward, taking the time to look at Venusaur properly. It… really was pretty cool, like if the situation was different, Blue would be freaking out over what a strong looking Pokemon Venusaur was right now. Blue had always perceived grass-type Pokemon as being rather weak, but this looked anything but. Blue would have a whole team of these one day… Not, Venusaur specifically, but certainly Pokemon that were just as powerful.

“…Maybe I’ll reconsider Bulbasaur next month. Don’t you forget that Gramps said I could pick first.”

Red nodded obediently, but infuriatingly, he didn’t seem like he cared either way. He was certainly never going to become a Pokemon Master with that attitude. Actually, neither of them were going to become Pokemon Master’s if they didn’t sort this Venusaur right. Blue sighed, putting off the rest of his stalling.

“…Do you like… have it’s Pokeball?”

Red pointed to his desk. On top of it, was a Pokeball, but it was open and dented. Clearly beyond repair. Well… they weren’t getting the Venusaur out in that. Blue groaned.

“How are we gonna return it to it’s Trainer when you’ve busted it’s ball?”

Red’s eyebrows narrowed slightly. This was obviously the point, which wasn’t very helpful.

“Geez…! So where are we going to release it? Out in the grasslands? It’d stomp on all the little Rattata!”

Red shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing in worry rather than irritation now. This was obviously a very spontaneous plan, Blue opened his mouth to bark at him again, before… slowly closing it as he realised this wasn’t the way. Red couldn’t be pushed into things, he needed calmness and quiet. Blue was really bad at both these things, but he decided to make the effort. He sat next to Red, and thought. Where could they safely release this actual dinosaur safely into the wild? The grasslands were obviously out, they couldn’t just throw it in the sea. They could just leave it out for someone to find, but Red obviously wouldn’t stand for this in case it’s old trainer got hold of it.

There had to be somewhere… Even Viridian Forest was probably a bad place to leave such a strong Pokemon… 

Oh…! Blue closed his fist and smacked his palm as he was hit with inspiration.

“What about the gates to the Indigo Plateau? The guards will just think it wandered out of Victory Road.”

Red looked up at Blue, and he was thinking too. Blue could almost see his brain ticking away as he filtered out all the pros and cons of this idea, but then he smiled and nodded. Blue grinned back at him, feeling pleased that he’d cracked this code. For a weird moment, they just smiled at each other, and Blue felt warm to his toes.

Behind them, Venusaur yawned loudly, and Red’s mother called up the stairs. 

“Red? Is everything alright?”

Red looked stricken, and he couldn’t say a word, but luckily, Blue could speak for him. He leaned his head out of the bedroom door.

“Just me vistin’! Don’t worry about it, we’re just talking about what Pokemon we’re gonna pick! It’s all a surprise, so don’t come up okay?” 

There was a silence, and then Red’s mother hummed a response, going back to whatever she was doing. Venusaur closed its eyes and settled down amongst the plushies to sleep. It was going to be a long night. 

After a whole evening of dodging Red’s mother’s questions and making up excuses for her to not come into Red’s room, Red’s mother finally retired to her own bedroom, and it wasn’t long until soft snoring could be heard drifting through the walls. Hopefully Red’s mother was a heavy sleeper. Once that was sorted, it was then a case of waking Venusaur up. It didn’t seem interested in listening to two kids who weren’t even trainers, but it soon became apparent that it wasn’t dangerous, just very stubborn. However, if Red and Blue had anything in common, it was that they were both stubborn too. They pushed, pulled and begged for the Pokemon to come with them and leave the house, but it seemed very comfortable in it’s pile of soft toys. Blue groaned, leaning against its side.

“It’s not gonna move…!”

Red seemed equally concerned with this development, but he was no less willing to give up. He crouched in front of the Venusaur, looking into it’s eyes. Damnit, had he formed some emotional bond with it or something? That was all very well, but that clearly wasn’t useful in their current situation. The Venusaur wasn’t going to do as it was told just because of Red’s big, soulful puppy eyes (even if this sometimes worked on Blue). 

They sat in front of Venusaur, as lost as ever. Blue tapped its snout.

“Hey man, don’tcha wanna do anything? Go out into the world? Meet a nice lady Venusaur? Nosh on some serious food?”

Red suddenly got up and left, leaving Blue alone. It was so abrupt that all Blue could do was blink after him. He could hear the cautious footsteps on the stairs. Blue could hear some clatters down below, like he was searching for something. Eventually, he came up the stairs again and stood in the doorway, his arms filled with all the flowers his mother had painstakingly tended to earlier. Blue stood up, watching as Red offered Venusaur a petal. The Pokemon lazily opened an eye, looking interested, then it got to it’s feet, casually lumbering forward to snatch the petal out of Red’s hands, chewing the tiny petal like it’d consumed an entire tree. Blue raised an eyebrow.

“Venusaur likes eating flowers? Aren’t they like… it’s brethren? Is this technically cannibalism?”

Red rolled his eyes, ignoring Blue and taking a few steps backwards, waving another petal until Venusaur followed. Each step made the floor creak horrendously loudly, and Blue froze up each time, listening for the sound of Red’s mother rousing from her sleep.

“ _Saurr!_ ” 

Venusaur growled moodily, nuzzling Red’s chest to try and grab some more of the flowers from his arms, but Red wormed away, encouraging Venusaur to follow. After what felt like actual years, they’d finally coaxed Venusaur down the stairs and out of the house. As the front door closed behind them and they stepped out into the night, Blue felt his legs turn to jelly with relief. This feeling of elation didn’t last long though, they were far from being out of the woods. Or rather, they needed to be in the woods, and the woods were too far away. Blue looked to Red, who looked similarly exhausted.

“Okay, so… we’ve just got to do that… all the way to Viridian City. Without anyone seeing us." 

Red nodded solemnly. It was going to be a very long night. Blue pulled himself back upright, patting Venusaur’s side before grabbing an armful more of Red’s mother’s flowers. They’d get in a lot of trouble for ruining them in the morning, but not as nearly as much trouble as Venusaur theft would.

“Might as well set off… Get him to the gates before sunrise.”

Easier said than done, but they’d got the Venusaur this far. Tired as they both were, they continued on, and Blue felt Red’s smile on his back.  It made every bit of aggro worth it. 

Getting through the grasslands to Viridian City had been tedious, but not as dangerous as Blue thought it would be. The Pidgey’s, Rattata’s and even the Spearow’s fled in horror at the sight of Red guiding Venusaur along. Pokemon sensed when their opponents were too strong. The trainer of this Venusaur was probably missing it… It was hard to feel too bad about him when Red was so adamant about keeping Venusaur away, and besides, In Red’s note, he said he’d taken it in as an Ivysaur. The trainer probably wouldn’t even be able to recognize his Pokemon now. Or would he? Blue still had a lot to learn.

As they crept round the outskirts of Viridian, their flowers ran out, and for a terrible moment, it seemed like Venusaur was going to settle again. Right outside Viridian City where everyone did their morning commute. Someone would probably notice a big, fat, warty dinosaur lounging on the side of the road. Blue clapped his hands together, practically falling to his knees in front of Venusaur’s face.

“C’moooooon Venusaur! You gotta follow us! You’re gonna get us into a bunch of trouble y’know? My boy Red’s done all this for you! Hasn’t he taken good care of you? Just a little more!” 

Blue had mostly been saying this in an attempt to get Venusaur moving, but Red seemed touched all the same, Blue went pink as he tried to ignore him, reaching down to attempt to tug one of Venusaur’s tree trunk legs forward.

“We just gotta get through those woods and then you’ll be frollickin’ with your kind! Meet a nice girly Venusaur and have lots of little Bulbasaur babies! Ain’t that what you want?”

Venusaur grunted as it considered, but Blue obviously wasn’t selling this well. Red stepped forward instead, kneeling in front of it’s face and stroking it’s side. As always, Red was silent, but his expression seemed to spell out a thousand words. To Venusaur anyway, to Blue, it was all still a mystery. Whatever Red did, it seemed to finally get through. Venusaur got to it’s feat again, but before it lurched on, it looked back at Red and Blue expectantly.

“Uh.”

Blue rubbed the back of his head, completely clueless, but Red seemed to get it. He tugged Blue’s sleeve, pointing to Venusaur’s back. Then Blue got it.

“It wants us to ride it?" 

Red nodded, tugging Blue’s sleeve more insistently now, but Blue stayed still. Damn… Blue had dreamed and dreamed of the day that he’d get to ride a Pokemon, but the scenario had never been quite like this. He was nervous, even though the Venusaur had proved itself to be gentle. What if he did something wrong…?

Red suddenly curled his finger’s round Blue’s, and Blue jumped, his face going bright red. He opened his mouth to protest, but nothing came out, they were both silent, looking at each other in the dim light of the evening. Then Blue nodded. It was dark and no one was around, if they weren’t going to spot a Venusaur, they certainly wouldn’t spot the two rivals of Pallet Town holding hands and being mushy.

Red let go of Blue’s hand, and Blue tried his best to ignore the pang of disappointment. He clambered up on to Venusaur’s back, steadying himself before giving a small smile of delight. Man, tonight was a gift when it came to “Red actually being expressive”. Blue tried to snap himself out of it, grumbling as he clambered up behind Red.

“I mean, I should be up front really, but I guess you’re more familiar with this thing.” 

Red ignored Blue, much to Blue’s annoyance, and Venusaur lurched to it’s feet. Blue yelped as he slid back, clinging to Red’s waist.

“Sh-shut up…!”

Of course, Red hadn’t said a thing, but Blue knew he was smirking.

* * *

 

After much slow plodding, Venusaur had gotten them through the Viridian Grasslands, and they’d managed to make it there before the sunrise. Though when Blue squinted at his watch, he saw the sunrise wasn’t far off. It would probably be best to get this over with. He slid off Venusaur, but Red took a little more time, patting Venusaur’s head while sniffing back… Tears…? Could those be tears? Blue practically leaned in, he’d seen many unusual shades of emotion from Red today, would he see tears too?

But Red composed himself, sniffing one more time before sliding off Venusaur in kind. Blue went out to look at gates, trying to figure out the best place to drop Venusaur off.

“The timing is probably good, if we left him here in the middle of the night, the guards probably won’t find him ‘til morning, so there’s less chance of him wandering off.”

Red nodded mournfully, and Blue turned to find him now miserably hugging Venusaur round it’s neck. Blue sighed. “Red… we gotta go. We gotta get back before Daisy or your Mom knows we’re missing.”

Red just clung tighter, and he really did look on the verge of tears now. Blue shook his head. 

“Damnit Red, if you cry…”

Blue reached out, but before he could do anything, an awful, rumbling groan rang through the air. Red and Blue whipped round to see a swampy area starting to ripple with thick green bubbles. The only Pokemon they’d passed on the way had been weaker fare, Mankey’s and Nidoran that couldn’t have been higher than level 4. This couldn’t be another one of them… could it? Venusaur growled, taking a step in front of Red protectively. Blue was frozen, but he pedalled back to Red’s side. A hand reached out of the grim water, followed by a muscly arm, covered in thick, rubbery skin. There was an eye and then another eye, and slowly, a vast Poliwrath pulled itself out of the mud, glaring at Red and Blue furiously. Unlike the fabricated story that they planned out for the Venusaur, this Pokemon clearly had escaped from Victory Road. This wasn’t a level 6 Pidgeotto, and with no other Pokemon to guide them, that was dangerous enough. This was something else. Blue clutched at Red’s wrist, taking a few steps back.

“We…. We have to go, Red.”

Red was frozen, but after Blue tugged at his arm, he took a step back. He glanced frantically from Venusaur to Red and back to Venusaur again, obviously torn between leaving Venusaur and running to safety. Blue wanted to scream and shake him, why did Pokemon always come before safety with Red? When they got their partners, they could run into danger whenever they wanted, but Blue wanted to be alive to actually get to that point in his life!

“Red, please…! Let’s just run…!” 

The Poliwrath was creeping toward them now, it’s steps becoming faster as it got closer. It clenched it’s fist and readied an attack…

“RED, NOW!”

As Blue screamed out into the air, a beam of sunlight filtered down through the trees, scattering over Venusaur’s giant flower. It ruffled it’s leaves, and took a step back. Before Red or Blue knew what was happening, a blast of light exploded from Venusaur’s mouth, knocking Poliwrath back into the water. Red and Blue watched, entirely dazzled by the display. Blue had never seen such a powerful attack before, was this really was Pokemon were capable of? Blue had seen attacks like this when he’d seen battles on television, but seeing it up close was an assault on the senses. Somewhere, among the commotion, Blue’s hand slipped from Red’s wrist and their fingers gently entwined as they watched Venusaur in awe.

Maybe grass Pokemon weren’t so weak after all.

* * *

 After a tearful goodbye, Red finally parted with Venusaur at the gates, watching from a distance as the guards at Victory Roads Gates hurrily ushered Venusaur into Victory Road. Red clasped his hands together as he watched, as if he was praying, obviously wishing for Venusaur to have a better life. Blue still wasn’t sure if all of this had been the right thing to do, but Red seemed relieved, and that was the main thing. When Venusaur had been ushered out of sight, they waited for some friendly looking trainers wandering past, going up to them to chime that they’d gotten lost on a morning walk. The trainers scolded Red and Blue both, but otherwise brought them back to Pallet Town safely, opting not to tell Daisy, or worse, Red’s mother. That poor woman worried enough. It was still early, so they crept back into Red’s room, and collapsed on to Red’s bed. 

They’d done it! They’d freed Venusaur without getting into trouble! As much as Blue was still struggling with the ethics of the situation, he couldn’t help but feel smug. He was also tired. Very tired. So tired that he lay back on Red’s bed, and didn’t even protest when Red sleepily pulled the covers over them. Venusaur’s smell still lingered in the room, but now that it wasn’t so overpowering, it was pleasant and relaxing. Blue sighed, feeling so comfortable in Red’s soft bed. He was so sleepy, and it was so nice and warm here…

“I’ve decided I’m gonna pick Bulbasaur.”

Blue hissed as Red kicked him sharply in the shin. Jeez, he was stronger than he looked! Red would be happy with any Pokemon, and they both knew it, but it didn’t mean Blue didn’t enjoy inspiring a little bit of competition in each other. Blue caught his eye, and they both smirked, dissolving into giggles before they both drifted off. Red… really could be okay sometimes. Maybe he’d even be an okay trainer? But Blue still reckoned he’d probably just give up after it got to tough to become a Pokemon Breeder or something, all while Blue became the Pokemon Champion… Blue’s eyes slid shut as he started to doze, ready to dream about his bright future.

**_“RED? RED! GET UP THIS INSTANT! MY FLOWERS ARE ALL MISSING AND THERE’S SOIL ALL OVER THE FLOOR.”_ **

Damnit. Blue watched sympathetically as Red groaned, pulling his pillow over his head.

* * *

Years later, Blue chuckled as he reminisced, turning to look at Red as he lay back against Venusaur, bathing in the Alolan sun. Red opened an eye, and they exchanged soft smiles. Blue shuffled in closer.

“I was just thinking… do you think Venusaur was like… related to, you know… _that_ Venusaur?”

Red blinked, but it didn’t take long for him to realise what Blue meant. He looked thoughtful for a moment, before nodding happily, raising his hands slightly to sign.

_That’s a nice thought. Either way, I hope the first Venusaur is doing well._

Blue nodded back, he understood now. Red has taught him so many things. What they did back then had been a good thing. Doing good things for Pokemon felt good. …Though seeing Red happy was still the main reason Blue went along with anything. He stroked Red’s face, leaning in to give his husband a kiss. “Of course he will be. We’ll have to walk through Victory Road when we get home, maybe he’ll still be there.”

Red nodded again, and suddenly a fit of slight laughter took hold of him. As lovely as this was to behold, Blue was a little confused. He raised his eyebrow slightly. “What’s up?”

When Red composed himself, he signed again.

_Well, you did promise you’d “Smell him later.”_

Blue tutted and gave Red a clip round the ear. Some things never changed.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! Hope you enjoyed this fic! I've wanted to write another namelessshipping fic for so long, and namelessshipping week seemed like the right time! I'm still so blown away that Mimic has had so much feedback and attention, thanks so much to every single person who left kudos and comments, every so often I read through them all, and it makes me so happy! I really want to get into the habit of posting more writing, but it's not something that comes terribly naturally to me. But I want that to change!! We'll see how things go.
> 
> Happy Namelessshipping week! 8D


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